Tuesday, January 31, 2012

TEACHER MARK BERNDT: Miramonte Elementary School instructor arrested over "bondage" photos taken of his students. ICK!

Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau detectives arrested 61-year old Mark
Berndt, a teacher with over 30 years’ experience at a South Los Angeles
elementary school, on child molestation charges after conducting an
extensive sex crimes investigation.

The investigation began over a year ago when over 40 photographs
depicting children in a school classroom, with their eyes blindfolded
and mouths covered with tape, were turned in to law enforcement by a
film processor. Film processors are mandated to report suspected child
abuse under California law (11166 of the California State Penal Code).

Investigators learned that some of the photos depicted Suspect Mark
Berndt with his arm around the children, or with his hand over their
mouths.

In addition, the photographs depicted girls with what appeared to be
a blue plastic spoon, filled with an unknown clear/white liquid
substance, up to their mouths as if they were going to ingest the
substance. There are also photos of children with large live
Madagascar-type cockroaches on their faces and mouths.

Over 80 current and former students and school employees were
interviewed during the extensive investigation. 23 boys and girls
between the ages of 7 - 10 years old, have been identified as victims
for crimes that were committed between 2008 - 2010.

A search warrant was served by sheriff's detectives on the suspect’s
home in the city of Torrance, which led to the discovery of over 100
more similar photographs depicting children. Also recovered was a DVD of
film depicting adult sexual “Bondage” activity which mirrored the
bondage-type photos of the children. The adults in the bondage video
were not identified and the images in that video are not a crime.

An additional 250 photographs were later recovered by Sheriff's
Special Victims Bureau detectives from the film processing
establishment.

There were over 26 children identified in the 390 total photos. Approximately 10 children have not yet been unidentified.

Early in the investigation, Special Victims Bureau detectives
recovered a blue plastic spoon and an empty container from the trash
within the suspect’s classroom. The recovered items tested positive for
semen. Through further investigation, the suspect’s DNA was obtained and
tested, and determined that it matched that of the DNA profile found on
the spoon and container.

For over 30 years the suspect was a teacher at Miramonte Elementary
School, 1400 E. 68th St., Los Angeles (unincorporated Florence/Firestone
area). Shortly after the investigation began, in March 2011, the
suspect was terminated by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Twenty-three felony counts of Lewd Acts Upon a Child, 288(a) of the
California State Penal Code, involving 23 children were filed in Norwalk
Superior Court on Monday, January 30, 2012, with bail set at $2.3
million.

The suspect was arrested at his home in the City of Torrance Monday,
and booked at the Sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center of the Los Angeles
County jail system.

Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau investigators is seeking the help
of the public to identify possible additional victims during the
suspect’s tenure at Miramonte Elementary School. Special Victims Bureau
detectives can be contacted at (877) 710-5273(LASD) or specialvictims@lasd.org
Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing
800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES
(274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org Report number: 010-21677-2170-120

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1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

Randy... District Attorney Steve Cooley just posted the following statement at 3:30 p.m

LOS ANGELES – Former LAUSD elementary teacher Mark Berndt is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on nearly two dozen counts of sexually molesting 23 boys and girls between 2005 and 2011, the District Attorney’s office announced today.

Berndt, who was arrested Monday at his Torrance residence by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives, is being held on $2.3 million bail.

Berndt, who taught for more than 30 years at Miramonte Elementary School in the Florence area, was charged in case VA123401 with 23 counts of lewd act on a child under 14 years of age involving 23 victims. All of the alleged victims are between the ages of 7 to 10 years old and all but two of the victims are girls.

The Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau launched an intensive investigation in late 2010 after a film processing company contacted police about photos depicting children in a classroom with their eyes blindfolded and tape covering their mouths. An investigation is ongoing.

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